Housing law takes effect without Trump’s signature
A bipartisan housing package became law after Trump declined to sign it, complicating Republicans’ effort to promote it before the midterms.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
A major housing bill became law Saturday without President Donald Trump’s signature, after he refused to act on a bipartisan package aimed at easing home affordability pressures. The move deprived Republican lawmakers of a public signing ceremony for legislation they had hoped to promote ahead of the midterm elections, Bloomberg reported.
The 21st Century Road to Housing Act includes measures intended to increase housing supply and curb some investor activity in the single-family home market. According to Bloomberg, the law will limit large institutional investors’ ability to buy more single-family homes, revise rules for factory-built housing and push local governments to remove obstacles to new construction.
Trump had backed the package earlier. In a June White House proclamation, he described it as “the most comprehensive and consequential housing legislation in the history of our country,” according to Bloomberg.
His position later shifted. Bloomberg reported that Trump called the housing bill “a yawn” and said it mattered less than a voter-ID measure he has urged Congress to pass.
On Friday, Trump wrote on social media that he would not sign the housing bill “in PROTEST” because the Senate had not passed what he called “THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Bloomberg reported. The president had previously canceled a planned June signing at the Capitol, where lawmakers expected a public event after months of negotiations.
How the bill became law
Under the Constitution’s process for bills sent to the president, legislation can become law if the president neither signs nor vetoes it within 10 days, excluding Sundays, while Congress remains in session. Bloomberg reported that the deadline expired Saturday, putting the housing package into effect without the president’s name on it.
That route is uncommon. GovTrack data cited by Bloomberg showed the last law to take effect without a presidential signature was the Iran Sanctions Extension Act in 2016, when President Barack Obama allowed it to become law while calling it “unnecessary.”
The housing bill’s investor provision was among its most debated pieces. Bloomberg reported that it bars institutional investors that own more than 350 homes from buying additional single-family properties.
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, said the investor restriction was central to gaining White House support, according to Bloomberg. Trump had raised the idea in January, saying that “people live in homes, not corporations.”
Housing advocates behind the bill have promoted it as a meaningful response to a shortage of homes and rising prices, Bloomberg reported. Industry experts told Bloomberg that near-term effects are likely to be limited because adding housing supply takes time.
A political complication for Republicans
The episode leaves lawmakers in both parties to explain the law’s benefits without the White House promotion that often accompanies major legislation. Bloomberg reported that Republicans had hoped to frame the bill as a bipartisan response to an issue voters are focused on before the midterms.
Trump’s refusal also fits a broader strain between the White House and Senate Republicans, according to Bloomberg. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota has warned that the voter-ID bill Trump wants does not have the votes to pass.
Bloomberg reported that Republican lawmakers have recently rejected or removed several Trump priorities, including $1 billion for a new White House ballroom and a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. A dispute over an acting spy chief also contributed to an impasse in which a key surveillance authority expired, according to Bloomberg.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.